Brown, Warren spar in 2nd debate

LOWELL — Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and Democrat Elizabeth Warren jousted on everything from immigration reform and Afghanistan to jobs and the Supreme Court during their second televised debate.

LOWELL — Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and Democrat Elizabeth Warren jousted on everything from immigration reform and Afghanistan to jobs and the Supreme Court during their second televised debate.

Brown began tonight's match-up by demanding Warren release her personnel records at Harvard University, even as he conceded she is "a qualified academic."

Warren pressed Brown for more information on the clients he represented as a private attorney and said if elected to the Senate, Brown would help fellow Republicans block President Barack Obama's agenda.

Asked about Afghanistan, Warren broke with Obama, saying U.S. troops should be pulled home ahead of his 2014 withdrawal date. Brown said he'd rely on the judgment of Obama and his generals.

The two also split on immigration, with Warren saying she supported the so-called DREAM Act, which Brown opposes.

Brown and Warren were asked which Supreme Court justice is their model. Brown responded Justice Antonin Scalia and then added Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Warren said her model is Justice Elena Kagan.

Tonight's debate comes in the wake of recent developments in the race, including the release of a video showing staff members for Brown and the state Republican Party shouting war whoops and performing tomahawk chops in an apparent reference to Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren's claims of Native American heritage.

Last week, Brown called the behavior "unacceptable" and "immature" and said he met with his staff and told them he didn't want to see a repeat of the actions.

"I've told them very clearly that if it happens again, they'll be fired," Brown said.

Warren has said she was told growing up that her mother was part Cherokee and part Delaware Indian, but she hasn't offered any documentation of that heritage. Brown has accused Warren of using the claims of heritage to get a job as a law professor at Harvard Law School — something Warren has denied.

Brown has also challenged Warren to make public more details of corporate clients she's provided legal work for during her career.

Brown has criticized Warren for past legal work on behalf of LTV Steel and Travelers Insurance in U.S. Supreme Court cases, which he said runs counter to her image as a fighter for the middle class.

Warren has also challenged Brown to release more details on his work as a private attorney.

On Friday, Brown said that his legal work has focused on real estate closings.

Also Friday, the state Democratic and Republican parties filed competing complaints with the Federal Election Commission.

The Democrats charged that Brown illegally coordinated with a group affiliated with GOP strategist Karl Rove on automated phone calls targeting Warren, while the Republicans said Warren illegally coordinated with the AFL-CIO on anti-Brown mailings.

The race remains tight.

A poll released over the weekend by The Boston Globe found 43 percent of likely voters backing Warren and 38 percent backing Brown, with 18 percent saying they were still undecided.

The poll of 502 likely voters began the day after the candidates' first debate, running from Sept. 21 through Sept. 27 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

The same poll found President Obama leading former governor Mitt Romney by 27 percentage points in Massachusetts, a 57 percent to 30 percent gap.

The Senate contest is already the costliest political race in Massachusetts history and is being closely watched by both national political parties as they wrangle for control of the Senate.

Brown won the seat in a 2010 special election following the death of longtime Democratic U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy.